Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Why Voting in America Accomplishes So Little

As the Tea Party is about to find out, electing new politicians to the imperial legislature does little or nothing to curb the power of the government. Isabel Paterson describes the problem succinctly:

"....political power has a ratchet action; it works only one way, to augment itself. A transfer occurs by which the power cannot be retracted, once it is bestowed. In the lowest illustration of this, a candidate for office may promise the voters that he will reduce taxes, or the number of offices, or the powers of office. But once he is elected, he can use the taxes, the office holders, or the powers to ensure re-election; therefore the motive of the promise is no longer operative. By cutting down expenditure or the number of officeholders or graft, he will certainly create enemies, so the reverse motive, impelling him to evade his promise, is doubled. The voter can only vote the incumbent out; but the next officeholder will come into those augmented powers, and be still harder to get rid of in turn. The difficulty of taking back powers once granted is illustrated in the repeal of the Prohibition Amendment; although it was demanded and carried by overwhelming sentiment of the citizens, the article of repeal contained a proviso which would retain numerous Federal jobs; it was impossible to make a clean sweep of the pernicious usurped power."

Karl Denninger, who believes the Tea Partiers were easily and quickly co-opted by the Republican Party, advises Americans to stop playing by the establishment's rules and begin massive, continual street protests:

You don't need a leader. You need balls. The proper question is when you will find them? If not now, when?